The Fisher King Falls
by thisburningsky
Summary: post 4x5. Blair is left with few options after Chuck's threat at the Hamilton House. Rather than concede, allowing Chuck to destroy her, Blair escapes. As far as she possibly can, all the way to Los Angeles, California, to start fresh. Not for long.
1. Chapter 1

Blair was no stranger to warfare.

She was cunning and never apologetic for her sharp tongue and lack of manners towards even an enemy that concedes, but as with any ice queen there was a limit.

Never did Blair Waldorf expect that her limit would be pushed by Chuck Bass.

It was an obvious play, once she thought about it. As far as Chuck was concerned, Eva had been his shining beacon of hope. Though he loved Blair fiercely, she never managed to give him the full acceptance he so craved.

But that was because Blair was no fool, unlike Saint Eva, who seemed to be content with even a murderer for a lover, as long as he loved her back. That kind of generosity does not exist in the Upper East Side, and Blair would not reprimand herself for being too selfish.

This was who she was, and no one would impress anything else upon her.

It had been three days since Chuck's further declaration of his attempts to ruin her life at the Hamilton House, and for the first time in Blair Waldorf's life, she found herself waking up afraid. She hadn't eaten a meal since the morning after the horrible date set up debacle, and even Dorota was beginning to reflect Blair's fears in her own careworn face.

"Miss Blair, I brought you breakfast," Dorota cooed from behind Blair's closed door; the brunette rolled over, slightly pulling up her nightcap and groaning, "I'm not hungry Dorota…." And then she rolled right back over, pulling a pillow over her head.

There was a knock, and then finally Dorota opened the door. It was dangerous business dealing with Blair Waldorf in the morning, but now it seemed this queen was too drained to even snap back.

Feeling Dorota sit on the foot of her bed, Blair groaned again, sitting up, still wearing her nightcap.

"_What_?" She threw her hands up, exhasperated.

"This cannot go on, Miss Blair," Dorota spoke slowly, folding her hands in her lap. "You need to go to class, and eat," she waved her hands at the tray of fruits in front of her. "Miss Blair cannot let Mister Chuck win."

"Dorota, simple Dorota," Blair said matter-of-factly, pulling her night cap off, "_Mister Chuck_ is no longer interested in winning or losing. He wants a total take down. I'm not prep—we're not prepared for that sort of thing," she frowned, eyeing a piece of strawberry on the tray.

Dorota noticed and scooted it closer to Blair, looking concerned.

"I…," Blair began, knowing that she'd been considering the possibility for the last three days, but unsure if she wanted to pursue it, "I think I need to go somewhere."

* * *

If there was one thing Blair learned from being best friends with Serena Van Der Woodsen, it was how to disappear. She left a note for S, a note for her mother and Cyrus, and a box of chocolates for Dorota. By the next morning she had withdrawn from Columbia, and was on a plane to her new school, and hopefully her new life.

It was unlike Blair Waldorf to run from a fight, so she knew it would take everyone a bit of time to figure out where she'd gone; if she planned things right, Chuck Bass would never find out.

Her plane landed in California, and much to Blair's surprise, it was intensely sunny for a late fall month. Perhaps she was so used to the cycle of weather in New York that her body wouldn't be able to handle the heat.

By the time she was hailing a cab, Blair had already decided to return the next day. This was a silly idea, she told herself; Chuck really wouldn't destroy her life.

The long cab ride changed her mind.

She remembered the look on his face when he told her he wouldn't stop, when he looked so clearly at the face of the first woman he loved and told her that he had every intention of shattering her world. Chuck Bass was not a man to be stopped, once set on something. He _would_ destroy her life, gladly.

She had become so immersed in thought that it took the cab driver three taps on her window to get her attention. They had arrived, and the campus seemed to be in full swing. Stepping out of the car uneasily, Blair clutched her Louis Vutton purse close to her chest and glanced around, unable to hide her nervousness.

Her outfit looked ridiculous next to everyone else; she wore a peacoat, red stockings, and a pair of Manolos. Everyone else seemed to be wearing shorts and flip flops. Blair even cringed when she saw two girls walking in bikini tops.

The cab driver seemed to have noticed her concern, and he gave a low chuckle, "I'm sure after a month or two you'll fit in just fine."

Blair grimaced, unused to cab drivers addressing her, and she took her suitcase from him slightly forcefully.

"Just bring in the rest of my stuff," she smiled bitterly, and then turned her back to him, taking in a breath and starting to walk towards the building in front of her.

"Welcome to UCLA!" A group of fraternity boys walked by, laughing at what Blair suspected to be her.

"Ugh," she rolled her eyes, pulling out her phone and scrolling through her contacts until Serena's name was highlighted. This was _miserable_.

Blair never managed to press send; she was forcefully interrupted by a soccer ball that grazed the back of her neck, flicking some of her loose curls that spilled out of her half ponytail.

Whipping around in true offended-Blair-Waldorf fashion, she scoffed and immediately looked for the perpetrator.

It seemed he was two steps ahead of her, for he was already clutching the soccer ball guiltily to his chest, giving her a sheepish grin. "Sorry… sometimes I get a little over enthusiastic," he gestured at the ball.

Blair made a face, holding her bag to the side with her hand out, still ready to dial Serena on her cell phone. "_Excuse me_?"

"Here," he suddenly moved forward, taking the luggage out of Blair's hand, "let me help you. New student?" He gave a boyish smile, but she was still too offended to be charmed by his manners.

"Yes, not that it's any of your business," she snapped. Pausing, she considered the situation and decided to use it to her advantage. "If you insist," she began, giving him a wry smile, "the rest are in the cab," she waved behind her, where the cab driver was already sweating as he stood over five other suitcases.

The boy blinked, unsure of what to do, and Blair smiled to herself and walked towards her dorm, leaving the cab driver and the boy in her wake.


	2. So Last Season

(( Hey, thanks for the reviews guys! I'm really glad so many of you like it so far!

**NEW UPDATE: **There will be a parallel fic following the same timeline of this story that takes place from Chuck's POV, so you guys can see what's going on with him too! It's not up yet, but when it is look for it, posted by suspensegirl ))

Her dorm room was flawlessly decorated by that afternoon, and as Blair stepped back to admire her red and plum color scheme, she heard a knock at her door.

Turning around abruptly, she placed one hand on her hip and slowly considered the door, using her free hand to fiddle with a rather extravagant pearl necklace she'd just put on. It was a gift from Cyrus.

"Who is it?" She called tentatively.

"Josh, I'm your RA."

Blair groaned and took off the necklace as she headed towards the door, dropping it in a small container sitting on her dresser at the last minute.

"Yes?" She smiled sweetly, opening the door and leaning against the frame. Josh seemed to be caught off guard by her appearance, and it took him a moment to speak.

"You do know it's seventy degrees outside, right?"

Blair flashed a brief, mocking expression, "thank you for that keen assessment of the weather. Anything useful to say?"

He blinked, shock seeping into his formerly friendly grin.

"Uhh… just a pamphlet for new students, and how to contact me...," he handed her a folded packet clumsily, avoiding eye contact. He was _far_ too easy to frighten, Blair found herself instantly bored.

"You can go now," she scoffed, and shut the door rather forcefully.

She spent the rest of the afternoon mulling around her room, rearranging her furniture and trying to match outfits for the rest of the week; although the latter endeavor was almost painful without Serena there to give her opinions.

At some point she even succumbed to the lure of Lindt chocolate, popping a dark chocolate one in her mouth guiltily as she sat at the foot of her bed. Blair would have pursued anything to keep her mind occupied; wandering thoughts were her greatest enemy.

It was nearly midnight by the time she ventured out of her room. Wearing a dark plum satin robe (to match her sheets), she snuck down the hall in tiny slippers, wiping a small tear from her cheek as she turned for the stairs.

"You know college isn't supposed to be a beauty contest, right? I mean, that was high school."

Blair whipped her head around, pulling the front of her robe closed. It was the boy from earlier that day.

Giving him a sympathetic look, she took two steps forward and clasped her hands together in front of her chest. "Since I don't know what your name is and you so willingly offered to carry my bags earlier, I'll go ahead and assume you're the help, so let me give you a little lesson in addressing your superiors," Blair drew in a breath, feeling the color recede in her cheeks as a small wind blew through the hallway, "You and I," she gestured between the two of them, "are _not_ friends. You do not know me, and I have very little desire to change that."

"I get it," he said, nodding his head slowly as he flashed a roguish grin. "You're one of those bitchy chicks, aren't you?"

Blair made a face, as if she were dealing with an intensely putrid trashbag rather than a person, "You would do well not to forget that."

With that, she abandoned her original plight and started walking back towards her room.

"I've been there, you know," he quipped. "You think I don't recognize the designer clothes and the rich girl swagger? I was an army school brat. I've been there." He then paused, coming up behind her and slightly whispering in her ear. "Whatever made you leave, let it go. You're here now."

"Oh, shut up."

Blair was off, rolling her eyes and forgetting to even bother slapping the boy for getting so close to her.

"And just so you know, it's not help, it's Sebastian!"

"I don't care!"

She slammed the door behind her.

* * *

Blair barely slept that night, waking up every hour or so with a startle; by four AM she'd left imprints in her sheets from where she grabbed them. Were these even nightmares? She could not remember anything once she woke up, but there was a panic in her body movements as she rolled around.

Her alarm clock was unforgiving as it blasted the radio at a very exhausted Blair. She turned over, swatting a clumsy hand at it, hoping to hit the snooze button. It was nine AM.

She'd purposely set her alarm that early to sign up for classes, intent on at least getting one or two good professors. Though school had already started, so she would be coming in late, but the donation Cyrus made to the school took care of that.

Speaking of Cyrus, Blair remembered she had to make a slight change on her registration information. She was now Blair Rose—though Chuck knew Blair got along with her stepfather now, he would assume she'd never take on his last name, out of simple pride.

So that's exactly what she did.

Slipping out of bed, she groggily felt around for her robe and pulled off her nightcap as she walked to her dresser. Suddenly something occurred to her, and she nearly fell over.

She'd have to share a bathroom with everyone on this floor.

* * *

Blair stood in line for a good half hour before giving in to her famous Waldorf tantrums, catching a timid TA off guard and demanding that they expedite her class registration. Ten minutes later she was walking out of the building with a brand new schedule; four classes that had nothing to do with her previous intended major at Columbia. Yet another way to throw off Chuck.

As she glanced down at her sheet, trying to find where her first class was, someone bumped into her shoulder from behind.

"Ugh! Is _everyone_ at this school an uncoordinated—,"

"I'm so sorry!"

It was surprisingly a girl's voice.

She was tall, close to Serena's height, but with not nearly as blond or as flowy hair. She did, however, carry an air of importance as Blair noted from her designer backpack and Steve Maddens.

"Those are last season." Blair flashed a cheeky smile.

The girl looked confused, and Blair did not give her much time to process; she was already walking away.

"Hey!" She heard a familiar voice.

"You again," she groaned, turning around.

"I see you've met Sarah," the boy from last night, Sebastian, smiled as he put his arm around the girl Blair had only moments earlier given a fashion bitchslap.

She laughed, adjusting her bag on her forearm, "You _would_ be dating her."

"You know this girl?" Sarah asked quizzically, shifting uncomfortably under Sebastian's arm.

"Oh," Blair sighed mockingly, "that's adorable. She's jealous."

"God you are really bitter." Sarah fired back.

Blair stopped, unprepared for anything even remotely observant to come out of the leggy blond; after a moment, she offered a neutral expression. "For what's happened to me, darling, not nearly bitter enough."

With that, she turned around and left, purposefully avoiding eye contact with Sebastian the whole time.

* * *

Her classes were slightly more demanding than she'd anticipated, but it was nothing Blair Wal—Rose couldn't handle. She was done with homework by nine, and around ten she began repainting her nails dark red.

There was some sort of commotion out in the halls that had been going on since five PM, but Blair did not bother to make herself known. She'd rather keep her friends to a minimum; it would make it more difficult to lie low. Besides, she told herself reassuringly, there wasn't even anyone on the west coast who was worthy enough to be a minion.

Even curiosity has a hold on Blair, however, and somewhere in between painting the last two fingers on her left hand, she got a little antsy.

Putting on her robe, she popped her head out, careful not to draw too much attention to herself.

"Yo, there's a party tomorrow night at AXP!"

A party, did you say? Blair smiled.


End file.
